The Saskatchewan Roughriders Christion Jones (26) is pursued by the Ottawa Redblacks Andrew Marshall (90), Jake Harty (8), and Keelan Johnson (15) during second quarter CFL action in Ottawa on Friday, September 29, 2017. (CFL PHOTO - Patrick Doyle)
OTTAWA — Christion Jones’ patience was rewarded Friday — in more ways than one.
On his third punt return of the game (and the 18th of his CFL career), Jones waited for his blocks, calmly picked his way through the Ottawa Redblacks’ special-teamers and raced 97 yards for a touchdown that got the Saskatchewan Roughriders on the scoreboard.
Jones’ first punt-return TD as a CFLer buoyed the spirits of the Roughriders, who overcame a 17-0 deficit to post an 18-17 victory at TD Place.
“You could feel it on our sideline; that was the spark,” Jones said after the contest. “You could tell that it was a pattern. Once that happened, everybody started making plays and it was exactly what we needed.”
It was what Jones needed, too.
The 5-foot-11, 190-pounder was a special-teams dynamo at the University of Alabama from 2011 through 2014. Over his four seasons with the Crimson Tide, Jones returned 68 kickoffs for 1,727 yards and two touchdowns as well as 66 punts for 719 yards and three scores.
Jones wasn’t selected in the 2015 NFL draft, but he signed shortly thereafter with the Miami Dolphins. He was cut by Miami just prior to the 2015 season, was re-signed by the Dolphins in March of 2016, and was released again before the ’16 campaign.
He signed with the CFL’s Toronto Argonauts in May of 2016, but was released after suffering a hamstring injury in training camp. On July 17 of this year, the 24-year-old product of Adamsville, Ala., signed with the Roughriders.
“He was a great player at Alabama and I’m an Alabama fan, so I was able to watch him first-hand a lot,” said Saskatchewan head coach-GM Chris Jones. “A few people I know on (the Tide’s) staff thought he was a really good player and showed up a lot on game day.
“I reached out to him earlier in the season when we were needing a returner, he was interested in getting up here and he has done nothing but good things for us.”
After spending two weeks on the Roughriders’ practice roster, Christion Jones made his regular-season debut as a professional on Aug. 5 against the B.C. Lions. He returned one punt for 26 yards.
In a rematch against the Lions on Aug. 13, he had seven punt returns for 139 yards — the most yards in a game by a Saskatchewan returner since Corey Holmes had 181 against Toronto on Sept. 15, 2002.
After the Roughriders had a bye, Jones returned three punts for 33 yards against the Edmonton Eskimos on Aug. 25. But he hurt a shoulder in that game and was put on the injured list.
“It’s very frustrating to watch someone else play your position, even though you’re rooting for them to go,” Jones said. “It’s just the competitive nature to want to be out there and be that guy.
“It’s a humbling experience as well, so I had to take some time off to really understand what I needed to do personally to be involved with the team.”
That meant rehabilitation — and lots of it. But there were other things to be done as well.
“You have to focus on what you need to get well, get other things on your body well that might have been banged up and also stay in the playbook while you’re off,” he noted. “It can be frustrating, but when you’re taught by these veterans how to be a pro, you kind of understand it better.”
While Jones was on the six-game injured list, the Roughriders used Nic Demski, Duron Carter, Marcus Thigpen and Ed Gainey to handle their punt returns.
Demski got hurt in the first game Jones missed (Sept. 3 against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers) and Carter and Thigpen were injured in the third contest he missed (Sept. 15 versus the Hamilton Tiger-Cats).
Saskatchewan’s coaches looked at options like Jacoby Ford and Joe Craig as returners, but the staff opted to activate Jones off the six-game list early. He returned four punts for 26 yards against the Calgary Stampeders on Sunday and six punts for 139 yards against Ottawa — including the game-changing TD.
“I 100 per cent bought into the program for Coach Jones and all the coaches on this staff … and for these veterans, the guys on this team who have been here before,” Jones said when asked about making big plays. “I just buy in and do my job.
“I always try to make a play, even when it’s negative-one yard or two or three yards on a return. I just took advantage of an opportunity (Friday).”
And now that Jones is back, he hopes the Roughriders no longer need to hold auditions for the returning job.
“For those who want to start and play, they have to solidify that position one way or another or somebody else is going to come do it,” he said. “Sometimes it takes a spark like (Friday’s return) to let everyone know, ‘All right, this is our guy.’
“I feel like that’s what the coaches feel, I feel like that’s what the team feels and we’re just going to keep riding with it.”
